Remembering Noreen Young and honoring a legacy

Have you had a chance to look at the new website for the Noreen Young Award for the Arts? It has now been more than a year since we said goodbye to  Noreen Young, O.C. (1939–2025) but we are happy to say that her legacy will live on through an endowment fund. Noreen was a […]

The magic-makers of the Puppets Up! site crew

“It’s so rewarding to watch each show start up for the first time each year, knowing that we achieved our goal and everyone is now able to start enjoying it.” Jared Young knows of what he speaks — he’s been a volunt-hero with Puppets Up! for years and now supports Paul Potvin as Paul takes […]

Spotlight on: Volunt-heroes wielding brushes!

Why bother just painting the town red when you can paint it puppet?! Days before the August Puppets Up! festival, traipse down Almonte’s Mill Street or head out to tasty shops on the edge of town and you’ll see the festooning in full swing. A mini-parade of volunteer window painters will arrive with their paints, […]

Puppets Need a Few Hands

We are all fully engrossed in the Winter Olympics, and it is hard to imagine, but in less than six months the puppets will take over the streets of Almonte, and we will all be sitting curbside waiting for the parade to start! We are planning an amazing festival August 8th and 9th, with 7 […]

Tech wiz Elaine McCausland steps into our volunteer spotlight

“Why do you volunteer?” we asked Elaine McCausland, Technical Director for Puppets Up! “There are so many reasons I’m involved, it’s hard to narrow it down.” Elaine smiled in reply. There’s so much to say about how our volunteers shine in this creative community. Picture it: summer days, puppeteers, puppets, and stages – sometimes six […]

Chautauqua Garners Fabulous Feedback :)

The cast and crew had a wonderful time presenting our Chautauqua last Saturday afternoon and evening. Even better, our audiences loved it too. A total of 240 folks attended one of the two shows. When we asked them to rate and share their experience via SurveyMonkey, one third of ticket purchasers responded with overwhelmingly positive feedback. Eight-five […]

Sarah Argue Talks Puppeteering With CBC Radio

Sarah Argue is the founder of Rock the Arts Puppets and a Puppets Up! collaborator. Sarah hosted a puppet-making workshop for kids at the National Arts Centre on Sunday, November 23. She was interviewed by Rebecca Zandbergen of CBC Radio’s Ottawa morning the Friday before the sold-out workshop. Sarah was hugely influenced by our founder Noreen Young, of whom she […]

Being Nick

He walks around town charming littles and bigs without ever saying a word and yet saying so much. He attends key community events throughout the year to shine a light on summer possibilities. He’s big. He’s beautiful. He’s Nick! Named for a young boy once of Almonte, and made by our founder Noreen Young, Nick […]